Simulation Trends in Quenching Technology for Automotive Components

Abstract

Quenching technology is widely used in automotive industry from a simple immersion quenching of gears up to the complex production technology of press hardening. The selection of process parameters to develop the desired properties is challenging due to the complexity of the physical phenomena occurring during the manufacturing cycle. In the last decades several computational methods have been applied successful to optimise the heat treatment processes. This paper is focusing on some examples demonstrating the state of the art of the simulation tools, including the physical phenomena of quenching, the theoretical background of the coupled models used for estimation the microstructure, mechanical properties and deformation of heat treated automotive components. © 2014 IHTSE Partnership.